Railroad News

Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) joined officials May 3 from the New England Central Railroad (NECR), a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc., for the ceremonial unloading of steel rails that will be used to upgrade the freight rail line running through Willimantic.

The province of Ontario and the city of Toronto signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) paving the way for an integrated GO Regional Express Rail (RER) and SmartTrack project. The province also announced funding allocations for additional transit projects in the area.

Alstom's Coradia iLint, the world's first hydrogen fuel cell powered regional passenger train, has won the 2018 GreenTec Award in the Mobility category by Germany-based Schaeffler Group Industrial, a manufacturer of machinery, power transmission and railway, heavy industry and consumer products with facilities around the world.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) have reached a joint funding agreement for a grade separation project in Santa Fe Springs, Calif.

The agreement calls for the allocation of $76.7 million in Proposition 1A bond funds, which will be matched by other local funding sources to complete the $155.3 million Rosecrans Avenue/Marquardt Avenue Grade Separation Project.

Thomas D. Loadman, senior vice president, Railroad Products and Services (RPS) at Koppers Holdings Inc., will retire Dec. 31, 2018, following 39 years at the company.

The company says that as of May 1, 2018, the RPS segment will be led by James A. Sullivan, senior vice president, Global Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC). Sullivan will also retain his previous responsibilities. Loadman will take on an advisory role to assist with the transition and other strategic projects aimed at identifying potential growth opportunities for Koppers for the remainder of 2018.

U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-GA-13) joined representatives from Tensar International Corporation, Genesee and Wyoming Inc., and other industry stakeholders on May 2 for a tour and discussion of public policy.

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees recommended on May 2 the appointment of Steve Meyer to serve as UTA's interim executive director.

MTA New York City Transit President Andy Byford, recently arrived from the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and working diligently to improve operations, has named two agency veterans to executive posts running North America's largest rapid transit network.

Texas Central, developers of the high-speed train between North Texas and Houston, entered an agreement with Bechtel to work together on project management services.

Bechtel will support Texas Central in managing the Texas Bullet Train project as it moves from development to implementation.

The Chicago Transit Authority issued a Final Request for Proposals to three contractors for Phase One of the Red and Purple Modernization Program (RPM).

The $2.1 billion RPM is the largest project in CTA's history and the transit authority says it will significantly modernize, improve and increase rail service in Chicago for decades to come.

HNTB Corporation has tapped Michael Booth, AICP, as the firm's new transit planning group director and associate vice president. He is based in HNTB's Chicago office.

Railroads and rail contractors will have an additional year to comply with the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) Part 243 Minimum Training Standards rule, which was originally issued in 2014.

This is the second year-long delay in implementation dates for the rule. The rule requires each railroad or contractor that employs one or more safety-related railroad employees to develop and submit a training program to FRA for approval and to designate the minimum training qualifications for each occupational category of employee. The rule also requires most employers to conduct periodic oversight of their employees and develop annual written reviews of their training programs to close performance gaps.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) conducted work on its Myrtle Viaduct on the M Line this weekend, rebuilding the structure that has been in place for more than a century.

nVent Electric plc, a provider of electrical connection and protection solutions, has completed its separation from Pentair plc and its launch as an independent, publicly traded company.

"With the completion of this spin, nVent has achieved a major milestone in becoming a more focused, global leader in providing electrical connection and protection solutions to customers around the world," said Beth Wozniak, nVent's chief executive officer. "We are going to be a fast-paced, dynamic growth company, focused on our customers and moving with velocity. I am proud to be part of the nVent team and am confident in the strategy and portfolio we have in place to deliver long-term shareholder value."

Union Pacific remains the safest U.S. Class 1 railroad in employee safety for the third consecutive year.

The top-performing railroad had a 0.79 reportable injury rate in 2017, according to Federal Railroad Administration data. A railroad's reportable injury rate represents total number of injuries reported per 200,000 employee work hours. The reportable injury rate in 2017 is up slightly from the 0.78 reportable injury rate in 2016, but remains much lower than the 0.88 reportable injury rate in 2015.

The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) awarded $2.6 billion in Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grants to 28 recipients. CalSTA is also providing additional funding for seven projects through multi-year funding agreements, bringing the total awarded to more than $4.3 billion.

TIRCP funding is provided through Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) and from the proceeds of the Cap and Trade program. The program provides major benefits towards meeting the State's climate and air quality goals, with a total reduction of more than 32 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Kansas City Southern (KCS) and CloudMoyo (CM), an information technology and services company, announced a partnership April 30 to modernize KCS' railroad operating system.

Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, has announced the appointment of Paolo Covoni as managing director of ECM S.p.A., an international signaling company it recently acquired. Covoni's new role is effective immediately.

Charles Bailey, director of design and construction Engineering for CSX Transportation, has been awarded the 2017 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

ENSCO, Inc. has announced two new appointments April 27. Ruben D. Peña B. has been selected to serve as director of Government Surface Transportation to its Applied Technology and Engineering Division staff, and Robert Coakley has been tapped for the role as director of Business Development in the Applied Technology and Engineering Division.